Duncan McNicholl, a member of Engineers Without Borders, has begun worthwhile project. He calls it Perspectives on Poverty and its aim is to challenge the way impoverished people are photographed and perceived.
He works in Malawi and has grown tired of the stereotypical portrayals of impoverished third-world citizens. His aim is to photograph those around him in two ways: once at their best and once playing the part of the downtrodden African we’ve come to see so often in the images soliciting charitable donations.
McNicholl says, “I want to bring to light some of the different assumptions we make about a person, especially when we see an image of ‘poverty’ from rural Africa.”
The image he has on of one of his subjects attempting and failing to look serious is worth a look by itself.